POI Christmas shorts
by whomii2
Summary: series of unrelated short Christmas fics
1. Chapter 1 Disguise

"Really Mr. Reese, I thought it would be quite fitting for the "man in a suit" to infiltrate the Christmas party masquerading as Santa. And the beard certainly provides enough of a disguise that it is unlikely our Number will recognize you from your earlier encounter."

"I still don't like it."

"Well, I suppose you could be an elf. Though I believe that outfit includes curly toed shoes and a pair of green tights. "

"…I'm good with Santa"


	2. Chapter 2 Resource

Finch was the go-to guy.

He knew it all: everyone's size, hobbies, preferences, and what they had and what everyone else was giving them. He could also locate even the most obscure present with a few quick keystrokes. So it was only natural that he would be consulted when it came time for them to buy each others' Christmas gifts.

But they were all left with the same quandary: what do you get the reclusive billionaire who has everything (but never goes anywhere)?


	3. Chapter 3 Gifts

Finch was stymied. He simply could not think of an appropriate Christmas present for John.

While Finch would love to expand Johns wardrobe (perhaps a touch of color? A thought for another time) a Christmas gift should be something the recipient would appreciate. Aside from the numbers, Reese seemed to have very few other interests in his life. And he lived a rather Spartan existence, making it tough to find something he would want or need that he didn't already have.

The gifts for the detectives had been much easier and straightforward. Tickets for Fusco to enjoy with his son, and expensive perfume that Carter was unlikely to indulge in for herself, but which might be useful on her next dinner date with Detective Beecher. And Bear of course would be happy with anything he could chew on.

John's greatest love seemed to be his arsenal. Finch really preferred not to become involved in that (besides, John had way too many weapons already). The man was impossible to buy for…

Little did Harold know that his Machine had already supplied John with his Christmas wish when it surreptitiously called him to pass on Root's location. John was quick to put his present to good use.


	4. Chapter 4 Negligence

John's time was running out, and he had no one to blame but himself.

Finch was perhaps the best partner John had ever had. The ease and speed with which he could ferret out the needed intel, and the resources he had available were quite impressive. More than that, John was comfortable with Finch in a way he never was with Stanton (perhaps because he could actually trust Finch).

It was …nice, and John had found himself slowly letting down his guard, relaxing some of the more paranoid habits drilled into him by his CIA training in favor of focusing on the relentless need to deal with the Numbers. Now that negligence was coming back on him with a vengeance.

He needed to buy Finch's Christmas present soon, and he still hadn't ferreted out Harold's favorite color.


	5. Chapter 5 conspiracy

Despite the difficulty, they had no choice. It had to be done. So the three of them were forced to conspire together. It was almost impossible to hide their plans from Finch. Not only was he aware of all their electronic footprints, but he could also track their movements and watch them from any number of surveillance cameras.

To pull this off they would need to be both careful and creative and none of them could afford to slip up around Finch and give him any hint of what was coming.

But if their plan worked they would actually be able to surprise Finch with their Christmas present for him.


	6. Chapter 6 Better Watch Out

_He sees when you are sleeping...And he knows when you're awake...He knows if you've been bad or good..._

Reese smirked at the overheard carol blaring from a nearby speaker, deciding to indulge in a little teasing to pass the time.

"Why don't you admit the truth Finch, you're Santa Claus you sly devil!"

"Hardly, Mr. Reese. I merely supply consulting services as a sort of tech support. Monitoring so many people nowadays can be a daunting task, to say nothing of organizing and collating the data."

Reese smirked even wider and continued "So do you have a pair of elf shoes tucked away in the back of your closet?"

"Certainly not. The uniforms are only worn by full-time employees. And Mr. Kringle could never afford my services on such a basis. While highly esteemed, he runs a not-for-profit organization that barely covers the cost of feeding and housing his staff. Though he does throw the best holiday parties and always leaves a nice tasteful gift this time of year. Fortunately, his colleague has a much more profitable endeavor."

"His colleague?"

"The Tooth Fairy. He contributed quite a bit toward my considerable fortune in return for my handling his investments. All those dimes and nickels add up when you consider the world's population. And he owes me a favor so I would suggest that you desist in your attempts to annoy me as he isn't above taking a hands-on approach to collecting teeth. I would also recommend your sleeping with one eye open if I didn't know that was your usual habit."


	7. Chapter 7 Christmas blowout

Shaw would always remember 2014 as the year she almost died, not from an enemy attack but from Christmas cheer.

Forced to hide out from Samaritan in the underground station, she decided to take out her frustrations on her team mates in a more subtle than usual (for her) fashion.

She began to decorate.

Harold seemed skeptical of her sudden holiday enthusiasm, but found the appearance of numerous festive decorations less disturbing than her constant cleaning of her weapons.

John gave her a hard stare, suspecting the sudden Christmas zeal had more to do with payback and less with holiday spirit but in the face of Harold's tacit acceptance John felt unable to object.

Root grumbled about being forced to be Shaw's supplier of all things holiday, but had to admit that the looks on John's and Harold's faces at the increasingly tacky and gaudy display were quite entertaining.

Even Bear was annoyed with Shaw after being forced into a Christmas sweater and a pair of fake antlers.

But Shaw, gleeful at the success of her evil plan, pushed on undetered. Soon the underground lair was filled to bursting with musical animated figures, glittering tinsel and garland, and a plethora of tinkling and flashing lights. It was the last which would be her downfall.

She had just connected a string of strobing snowman lights when the older wiring in the station finally reached its limit and blew.

The growl Harold let loose as he surveyed the effect on his poor babies in the dim light of the emergency backup would have put one of Bear's to shame.


End file.
